I wanted to share with you an experience I had recently to demonstrate to you how important communication is for your productivity and -time management. (Watch the video at the bottom of this blog). Because if you’re not effective in your communication, you’re not only wasting your time, but you’re also wasting the time of your clients or your potential clients. If you are not effective with your communication through the sales process, or with the purchase agreements, then you’re going to lose customers or you going waste a lot of time resolving misunderstandings of the sales process.

SAVE TIME BY CLEARLY COMMUNICATING THE PROBLEMS YOU ARE SOLVING

So it’s important that you communicate clearly with your customer, what’s on offer, what problems you resolving and how you going to step them through that process. It’s the organized information that people purchase. They have a clear understanding of what they going to experience by buying your product or service or engaging in business with you. It’s so important to have that communication effective from the very beginning to save you time down the track. Effective communication is fundamental to time management through the sales process.

I received a number of emails each day from people wanting to assist me with my SEO and I generally ignore them but this one caught my attention. It was clearly coming from somebody who is based in Australia. I thought that they would understand my market really well. They were requesting a brief conversation, so I reply in a brief email “Sure give me a call now”.

THIS RELATIONSHIP DIDN’T GET OFF TO A GOOD START

Now when this person called me, I was relieved to hear that Australian voice on the end of the line. But they gave me a very rehearsed sales pitch. They weren’t asking me questions about me or wanting to communicate with me.

I explained what I was currently doing with my SEO I and my understanding of it, what I was doing with my blogs, what I was doing with my social media and my general understanding around all of that and we briefly discussed the finer details of SEO methodology.

Then this person said to me, “Well me you clearly know what you’re doing”, “What do you want from me?” I found that comment really odd. I explained to him what problems he could solve for my business, basically, what his business could do for mine. I explained that I could benefit from having a monthly review of what I’m currently doing. I’d also value from his expert opinion and advice on what I can do to improve. Also, having someone review my Google Analytics report, helping me to make sense of it because I struggle to understand what those reports are showing me. As I’m speaking to him, he’s cutting me short, he’s wanting to end the conversation.

I’m not sure if it’s because he feels I’m talking too much or he’s in enthused, it’s not clear to me, but the conversation is not running smoothly.

WE END THE CALL

Within minutes, he responds with an email, which is fantastic, but in the email, he spelled my name wrong. I thought that that was a big mistake for that very first point of communication. It wasn’t the attention to detail, the care or thought that I wanted to see in that communication process. Then, within two sentences, he says that he wants to offer his service to me, it would cost 250 a month and once I agreed, he would send me an invoice and get started. I had no idea what I was going to be receiving I had no idea of what was on offer, or what problems he was going to be solving for me. I didn’t feel comfortable responding to that email. Maybe he didn’t really want my business and thought he’d just fling an empty line in the pond in the hope he might snag a fish, but why waste your time?

What are your tips for effective communication to enhance the sale process?

Leave your comments below.

Very soon, I will be launching an Online Training Program where I will teach you how to be far more effective in your communication to enhance your Time Management.

So if you want to learn more about how you can really enhance your communication techniques with your customers, team or your stakeholders, subscribe to my newsletter (if you haven’t already) so you will be one of the first to know about free webinars, free training modules, and other exclusive training opportunities.

About the Author:

Barbara Clifford (The Time Tamer) is a time management & stress management enthusiast based in Alice Springs, Australia. She has spent over 20 years working in time precious and stressful industries such as film, hospitality and marketing. She has always had a burning passion for creating order and making sense of things. She is sought after like a beacon in a sea of chaos to provide professional development in the business environment through workshop training, coaching, mentoring, online training programs, webinars and as a guest speaker around Australia. Her professional experience has included contracts with small business, Not For Profits, Aboriginal Organisations, Media, Marketing, Aged Care, Universities, Health Services and Cruise Ships. Follow Barbara on Twitter @barbclifford.

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